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Monday, December 7, 2009

Paul and Linda attend George's Show Incognito

This article was written by Deb Mynchenberg and first appeared in the newsletter, with a Little Help from my Friends. It was re-printed in the July-December 1994 Double Issue of The Harrison Alliance fanzine (which was all about the 1974 Harrison tour). The photos came from Rolling Stone magazine.

It all started at George’s last concert in New York, December 20, 1974 at the evening show. I had a first row seat, which turned into a 20th row seat or so at intermission since I gave up my original seat to swap with Pat Simmons. The seats in the 20th row had been empty all during the first half, and I had a beautiful, clear view to the stage. In front of me were two empty seats with two men in business suits occupying the seats on either side. They were acting like complete nuts, offering ice-cream to and joking with, anyone who would notice them. I thought they must be some important people since, from time to time; somebody in George’s entourage came over to ask them how they were, to say how glad they were they had come. I turned to the person next to me to ask if they were prominent New Yorkers, but didn’t talk to him long since he didn’t seem too friendly.

I turned around and groaned, since a couple now occupied the seats in front of me. The man had an Afro and the lady had a shock of gorgeous red hair which, needless to say, was not easy to look through to see George on stage!

People in the back of me were letting out whoops of “Hey Paul!”, “Beatles!” and “Ringo!” Two girls stopped in the aisle and tried to decide whether or not it was “him.” A boy came over and shook the hand of the man with the ‘fro and told him he knew who he was and wanted him to know that he thought he was great.

The person behind me asked if I knew who was in front of me. Upon replying “no” I was informed it was Paul McCartney! “Sure,” I said sarcastically, and pointed to the red-haired lady, “then that must be Linda.” “Maybe….” The guy shrugged. Not entirely believing it, but also not wanting to miss out if it were true, I directed my attention on the two. I noticed that the man chuckled after each whoop of “Hey Paul” or “Beatles!” The lady fussed with her hair, tugging on it now and then. Finally she tugged down glanced to the side. I was stunned. Instant recognition of Linda. No mistake about it. I took a snapshot which made her look straight at me, but at this point I was starting straight up at George. I was trying hard to pretend they weren’t there and having a hard time of it since my legs were going spastic and sure weren’t tapping in time to the music! All these years dreaming of seeing Paul and now I was denying it was true.

I think it is noteworthy to say that Paul applauded after each piece of music and the introductions except during “For you Blue” at the point of Willie Week’s intro. He simply turned to Linda; this was my first glimpse of something other than the wig. He had on dark glasses and a droopy walrus mustache.

They stayed through “Give me love” “Maya Love” “Tomcat” and “Dark Horse.” George played a mean version of “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” and really had it weeping. Paul’s head bobbed away to it.

Paul and Linda got up and left when Billy Preston had the audience up on its feet with “Nothing from Nothing.” Several people on the aisle got up and followed after them. My legs still would not have been able to carry me properly, so I simply sat there, satisfied that I had seen Paul in one of his infamous disguises.

They meaning Linda and Paul wanted to be in disguise looks ridiculous to you..it is obvious you are under 40 years old...Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney had to be in disguise...the Beatles had broken up and he did not want a huge crowd to bug him and force him to sing with George Harrison. He wanted to tell George that he was great...he wanted George to have the center stage not him and Linda.

Welcome Beatle fans!

This blog is to highlight photos and stories of people who have met the Beatles in person. And while fan taken photos are my favorite, I also like to include vintage fan photos and other photos that show the Beatles meeting fans.

The idea behind this blog is to follow in the footsteps of the great Beatle fanzines of the 1970's & 1980's such as The Write Thing, The Harrison Alliance, With a Little Help from my Friends, Paperback Writer, etc etc. Photos and article from those publications and others are reproduced here to preserve the history of the fans who met one or more Beatle in person.

If you have ever met one of the Beatles and have a story or pictures to share, please contact me, Sara, at Starshyne9@yahoo.com.

I love fan photos. These photos are from my collection, which spans 20 years of online photo collecting and scanning books. I do not claim any copyright on most of these photos or stories. Some of them are sent to me and published with permission. Others are scanned from magazines, books and found in various places online. I do not watermark photos that I place on this blog because I do not own any of the photos. These photos are on this blog in an attempt to preserve the history of the Beatles. If you own the rights to a photo and wish to have it removed from this blog, please contact me.